I have flown combat since the 80's. The flyers in our group like to fly formation with indestructible EPP wings and roll into each other in order to make combat. The planes are tough enough that they can take a hit and get knocked out of the sky and hit the ground and walk over, pick up your plane and toss it back into the sky.

If you use EPP wings, combat is inexpensive and a lot of fun. When you fly most plane designs you go up and fly alone. When you fly combat planes you are flying as a group which makes it a lot of fun. Take a look at these videos and think of what you could do with your club.

Listen to the voices of the pilots in the older first video. If they can't convince you that combat is a lot of fun I don't know what can.

The Assassin is my favorite wing right now , and the piņata has been a handful at high speeds but flys mellow she's great. I do have the piņata a bit over powered but that dosn't matter.

The Assassin flys awesome both fast or slow and is excellent for FPV'ing formation with the fellow wing FPV'ers at the field. She has no problem flying fast. I can see her being a great combat wing. I just wouldn't want the Foxeer osd camera on her to fly combat.

narrow is the place to land...wide is the space to crash....choose the narrow way!

It helps to get more planes in the air to hit but the goal is to fly together. The front planes slow down and the back planes cut the corners of an oval flight pattern to catch up. It is easy to run away but what is the fun in that?

One of the local flyers named Todd and I had 30 hits in one day. I would fly a predictable course and he would chase me down. Most hits didn't knock either of us to the ground.

Remember your plane needs to stay as light as possible. Each of these methods for reinforcing the plane adds a little weight, and when all are combined, the plane my be as strong as a tank and fly like one too. Think light!

Make everything repairable at the flying field, including the quick changing of servos, battery, and rx. The deeper you bury the rx, the harder it is to fix.

Our flying wings have spars to make them rigid, but the spars alone are not enough to prevent damage in an accident. We use a bidirectional reinforced tape called Scotch Extreme Tape to add incredible strength to our planes. This tape is tested to 150 lbs per inch in strength, but it adds weight and has to be used in moderation in the most stressed parts of the plane.

The Shock Cord makes a difference in a head-on impacts where G-forces try to tear the plane in half between the elevons near the motor. The shock cord also protects the wingtips and keeps the plane intact when most planes would have major damage. We include a chock cord in all of the wing kits.

We like EPP elevons that don't crack or split in impact and they also don't have the hinge tearing problems we see with balsa or bass wood elevons.

We also do not put any type of a fuselage on the wing. The only reason designers would put a fuselage nose or big battery in a plane like this is because they are having CG problems and can"t get their design to balance without the added fuselage or weight. The fuselage adds weight and drag. If I build light I can get my wings to balance with a single 1300 3S battery in the nose and no added weight.

The EPP foam will help protect your battery and rx if you bury them in the EPP foam and secure them so they can’t eject in an accident. Design the cutouts in the EPP foam to protect your investment. We try to build with no empty spaces in the wing so the wing can’t collapse on the empty space.

To balance the flying wings, we have put the batteries and rx close to the front of the plane. We have learned to turn the lipo battery with the side facing forward, to protect the wire connections and the more fragile edges and end of the battery cells whenever possible. In some planes it is not practical to turn the battery sideways, but in combat planes it may save your battery.

We also include a UV-protectant laminate covering in all of our kits. This laminate adds a lot of strength and also protects the foam and the reinforced tape from the sun’s rays that yellow and dry out the tape. It is crystal clear when applied, so some decals or coloring are recommended so you can see your plane in the air. The foam does not need to be sprayed with a spray adhesive for the laminate to stick, like it does if you use Ultracoat or colored packing tape. The laminate is so strong you can build without the Extreme Tape if you are trying to save weight, but as you can guess, the plane can’t take as much abuse.

I like my servos and radio accessible and easy to inspect and change. I install them in cutouts in the EPP foam, usually on the top of the wing where they are less likely to get knocked out in combat or thrown out in ‘high G” maneuvers. Secure them with a small amount of hot glue on the surface that can be easily removed. Make the servo cutouts smaller than the servos, so they fit snugly. If they are loose, it will make your flight surfaces flutter. Do not leave the sevos half out of the wing; bury them deep enough that the servo arm is just above the surface of the wing.

I like my control rods and clevises exposed so they won’t bind. Internal rods look better but can lose leverage and bend, allowing the elevons to flutter at higher speeds and break servo gears in collisions. They also can put drag on the linkage, making it hard for the servo to center and using more battery power. You should be able to move the elevon with the radio off by moving the flap by hand, and have the servo move in both directions. The rods and hinges should not flex or have any free play. We have seen the hinges tear or pull loose when this is the case.

Watch our building instructions at this link and get an idea of how we make a plane so strong it can hit a brick wall and not only survive but the radio is also protected. The video below shows a flying wing hitting a brick wall over and over. This plane still flies great even though we have hit a brick wall with it 15+ times.

So now you have an EPP combat plane that won't break and a few friends willing to fly with you ... What do you do next?

Here are some ideas that expand the rules of combat.

Combat Games

Fox and Hound - The group flies in a low circle or figure-8. Those at the front of the pack slow down, and those behind try to catch up for the hit. You score by making contact. You get a “Nudge” if you just make contact, and a “Hit” if a plane rolls over because of the impact.

Streamers on Planes - This is more traditional combat where the planes have streamers off the back, and flyers try to cut the other planes’ streamers with their prop. One variation is to have one plane that has a streamer and so is marked as the “target” plane. Instead of trying to cut the streamer, everyone tries to knock them out.

Limbo - You score 1 point by going under the wire or limbo pole, and two for going under inverted or going under a secondary, lower pole. Watch our combat videos and you will see several variations of this game.

Competitive Skills - Everyone launches simultaneously, does 3 loops, then 3 rolls, then lands. The first flyer with plane in hand wins. We have even done this with a required catch at the end to win. We have also required 2 catches to win. By the way, when you realize you are losing, you can try to take out the other plane with a hit, so they can’t win either.

Pylon Racing - An old favorite, but it takes on new meaning when you aren’t afraid to collide during the race. Simple race around a “track” marked with pylons.

Horse shoes or Bull's Eye. Flyers get points for how close to a target they can land.

Retirement Party - This is how we get rid of old planes. Everyone loves the chase and the kill. This is also a club favorite.

Bomb Drop - Set up a target and drop washers with streamers attached. Score by getting the closest to the target.
Streamer Drop - One plane carries and drops a roll of crepe paper or toilet paper, while the group tries to chop it up in the air while it is floating down. We cut a roll of toilet paper into thirds on a band saw making 3 streamers out of a roll.

Balloon Bust/Kick the Can - Take a dowel, and poke it in the lawn. Tape a balloon to the top, or place a pop can upside down on the tip. That’s your target. What makes this intense is that everyone is trying at the same time to pop the balloon and traffic gets low and heavy.

Parachute drop - The parachute drop is great for Scout groups or kids. Each kid brings a light parachute and they get dropped from the plane, 3 at a time. The flyers try to hit them as they fall. The Cub Scouts think this is great and love to chase. The boys have spent previous meetings making and coloring their parachutes out of white garbage bags and string.

Night Combat - Combat is also fun in the dark. Install LED lights, and have a great time chasing each other around with lighted planes. The danger comes when you collide in the dark and the lights go out. We haven't lost a plane yet!!!

Fly in Formation - It is harder to fly together than to fly combat. Fly in formation and do rolls and loops together. Have an announcer call the maneuver and everyone does it at the same time. A crazy announcer can make this your favorite game.

Paintball and Airsoft - The shooter should set the paintball and airsoft guns at a low power and the pilot should realize what is about to happen. Planes make low passes into the firing area, and watch the gauntlet begin. The paintballs will leave small dents in the planes but rarely will take a plane out.

That looks like a lot of fun. I ended up building the p51 from flitetest from the mighty mini series and just can't seem to keep it in the air.. the wind just tosses it around like crazy. it's real easy to fly when the wind is light but anything over 7mph winds and it's time to put it away.